Eyeshield



Feb. 27, 1940. A G, M'lLLER, ,R 2,192,092

EYESHIELD Filed nec. 2, 1938 zlsneets-sneez 1 Feb. 27, 1940.v G. MILLER, .JRv

EYESHIELD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 2, 1958 r n w m Patented Feb. 27, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT oFElcE Application December 2, 1938, Serial- No. 243,670 Y In Canada April- 1, 1938 5 Claims. (Cl- 2-12) 'I'his invention relates to an improved eyeshield.

Eye protection Devices of this nature become important as 6. increasing attention is being paid to the protection of eyes particularly in outdoor pursuits where the elements such' as glare, wind, dust and snow are unavoidably encountered. In high speed vactivities as for instance in sports like skiing,l 10 bob sled and automobile racing, motor cycling,

and in water sports, particular factors are encountered which reduce the utility of conventional devices owing' to their inability to give satisfactory protection. Many types of glasses, 15. goggles, shields and other protective deviceswhich have been developed specially to cope with these conditions are also inadequate in certain respects.

- In skiing possibly the main source of eye strain is glare from the sun shining on the snow, for .gli which a tinted shield or goggles are desirable. Then, in downhill running whereconsiderable wind resistance is developed, unless the goggles or shield are such that the head wind is properly deflected, wind and snow get in the eyes causing serious inconvenience. 'I'he majority of goggles and shields which are useful in protection against these conditions to a greater or lesser degree, are worn close to the face and suifer from lackof ventilation causing them to fog or cloud with I0, moisture, which condenses under varyingl temperature conditions. For instance, when the skiier is going up hill where the wind is usually vcut oif, his warm moist breath rising on to the cold surface of the goggles, causes condensation.

lIl the consequent cloud-up resulting in the obliteration of his vision. Condensation may also be caused by warm moist air from the eyes being trapped and condensed on the inside of the goggles.- This being the case, clouding mayhave 40 occurred to such an extent on reaching the top of the hill that it is almost essential to wipe olf the moisture before descent. In racing,however, the skiier cannot conveniently stop, and when his goggles cloud is frequently forced to continue under seriously impairedv visual conditions.

Furthermore, goggles of the types now in use are usually closed in at the edges and ventilated through orifices or a screen, and fit close to the eyes thus providing little air space. 'I'hey are 50 found particularly .uncomfortable since the air has not suilicient chance to circulate and heats u', causing the eyes to burn. Lack of ventilation also allows fogsing when changes of temperature. are encountered or the wearers breath rises on to IQ their Surface.

vthis manner, the shield presentsV a streamlined head band toA the body portion.

Objects With these objects in view a feature of the u improved shield is a transparent and flexible body portion like an inverted visor, and suillciently extensive for unobstructed vision. A bottom edge, held in place by an elastic head band.

ts snugly to the nose and cheeks well below the m line of vision. 'I'he body portion extends outwards toward the upper edge, which lies well out from the forehead and fromthe side falce to provide a large air space for ventilation. Worn in u surface to divert wind to either side and downwards, without reaching the eyes. Eddies or top drafts entering the. space between the forehead and top of the shield emerge through the opening between the top of the shield and the side 3 face carrying with them any snow or dust whl may have fallen in.

l Drawings The invention will be best understood by ref- 35 erence to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment, and in which,

Figure l is a planlview of one form of shield, constructed according to the present invention, laid out fiat to show its structural features.

Figure 2 is a. plan view of another form of shield, constructed according to the prent invvention, and laid outflat.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the shield shown in Figure 2, in position on the wearers 46. face.`

Figure 4 is an enlarged plan view looking down from the top edge of the shield in position as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a cross section along the line' 5 5 50, of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a lower corner view of the opposite side of the shield from that shown in Figure 2, showing especially a method of connectingthe Detailed description .Referring more speciiically to the drawings,

- the form of shield illustrated in Figure 1 includes a body portion; II, of non-shatterable and nonlportion of the bottom edge adjoining the nose opening, so that the ends and inner portion are on an inwardly extending arc. That is to say, the cheek-conforming portions are lower towards their outer ends than towards the middle of the shield so that when the lower edge is drawn tightly against the face the upper part of the shield is caused to buckle.

The contour of the upper edge is an outwardly extending are of greater curvature thansthat of the lower edge, while the side edges I4 joining the upper and lower edges are substantiallyl straight.v A head band I8 is joined to the body portion .at points adjacent the junction of theW lower and side edges.

A modifled form of shield is illustrated in Figures 2 to 6. In this form, the shield corn-Y prises a body portion 30 being a sheet of suitable exible transparent material. the body portion beingA not so long and of somewhat different shape to the form illustrated in Figure 1, and the top-edge being straighter. The lower edge is substantially of the shape indicated in the drawings and is provided with a binding in the form of a suitably secured and projecting leather strip 3|, which is slit at 3Ia as illustrated, to render thebinding flexible to assume the contour of the face when resting against it. For some uses the edge of the shield adjacent the nose may be made without the strip 3|, so that there will be absolutely no obstruction to free vision. A nasal bridge similar to those used on eyeglasses may be employed if desired. The top edge of the body portion 30 isprovided with a Yreinforcing element 32', which may either be, as

in the form illustrated, a strip comprising another layer of material similar to that of the body' portion, or a corrugatlon in the material itself, or any other device which will serve the purpose of 'rendering the top edge stiffer than the remainder'of the. body portion.

The lower corners of the body portion are provided with spaced-apart, eyelets 40 through which pass a lace II connected to the endl of 'an 'elast c .y head band 42 of adjustable length. Through this means of connection the head band l2 may, when the shield is in place, b e moved up and down between the eyelets, thus engaging the point of tension of the head band in relation to the shield when on the wearers head, and causing adjustment of the angle which the shield assumes to the face.

, Both the shield form `illustrated in Figures 2 to 6 and the other form illustrated in Figure 1 are put on by passing the head band about the head 'and placing the specially contoured lower edge'` of the shield against the wearer's features.' j l In either form' of the shield, the reinforced The body portion Il has a devices thus doing away with the obstruction to vision which is so common at this point. Also the cheek edges of the binding rest relatively lowl down on .the cheeks, engaging the latter usually just below the curve of the cheek bone. the remaining outside portions of the lower edges passing across the side face to meet the head band. 'I'hus the lower edge of the shield is well below the une of vision. The particular contour of the lower edge when it is against the face causes the remainder of the upper body portion to buckle outwards, something like an inverted visor, forming between it and the-.head an air space for ventilation and at the same time presenting a streamlined surface.

`In the case of the alternate form of shield described in Figure 2 and following, the reinforc- .ing or stiffening. element has .as its primary function the elimination of undesirable reilection` wearer's head. doing away with any extremev flare forward caused by the buckling of the shield as a result of the curvature of the face edge whenl urged against the face.

The consequent reduction of angle of incidence of possible suns rays, with an equal reduction of the angle of reection, causes all light rays reiiected from above, tostrikebelow 'the eyes and not into them. The net result is the elimination of glare or reflection on the inside surface of the shield. v

The secondary function of the reinforcing element is to act as a frame for the shield enabling it to maintain a desirable contour even against the pressure of a strong head wind.

In this way; the conformation of the shield when in position is particularly important in overcoming wind conditions and in providing ventilation. A stii head wind, as for instance -in downhill skiing, is deflected by the surface of overheating of the eyes with the resultant smarting, a fault common to most eye protectors.

The expanse of the body portion and-the low position of the binding well down on the face below the line of vision permit an unobstructed view. The low t also permits the specially con-vy `structed binding tov rest onv a` relatively 'at portion of theface'rendering the shield Aextremely difficult to dislodge. Tire tension of the headband maintains the free jedgermly in position and at the same tine by reason of the latters` contour, as already described, causes the upper portion of the shield to fan outwardly so as to present a streamlined surfaceand to provide a large unenclosed air, space for,v ventilation. A -further surprising` featurel of.` this airspace is vthat under most conditions ,when the wearer is moving or the wind is blowing-the ,gentlevv air shield allowsy y'any warm .p

currents caused to new therethrough by the conformation of the shield Ac'arry falling snow or Y' dust to'the rear and away fromathe eyes.

The flexible and non-shatterable nature of the material from which the body portion is con- ."structed renders it safe to use. When in posi- Ialternative forms. For instance, the shield may` be of molded material shaped to lit the face and to provide the expansiveair space for ventilation purposes. conceivably, a modified form might be in two sections, one for each eye, like goggles,

providing an open top is formed adequate for the purpose of ventilation. The head vband may, if desired, 4be replaced by ear-engaging arms such as those commonly used with eyeglasses. When the shield is being used purely to guard the eyes from sun and glare, and added ventilation is desirable, small Ventilating Aorifices can be provided in the body portion just above the binding on the face edge. Other trade variants ban naturally be employed to render the shield most eiilcient. Various other modifications may be made in the structure without departing. from the spirit of the invention.

The sub-titles used throughout the specication are merely to simplify reference thereto and should otherwise be disregarded.,

I claim:

1. A frameless, ilemble, eyeshield requiring contact with the features 'to be held in operative shape and in position, comprising, a fiat expansive sheet of transparent material constituting the body portion, thelower edge of said sheet being. shaped'to include a no recess and cheekconforming portions adapting it to flt the face below the eyes; on exure into contact therewith, said cheek-conforming portions being lower towards their outer ends than towards the middle of the shield, whereby the upper part of the sheet is buckled outwards to provide an open top ,for ventilation when .the lower edge is urged against the features, retaining means secured to the outer corners of the lower edge for urging sive sheet of `transparent exible material constitutingabodyportiomthelower edgeofsaid= sheet being shaped to ilt the face below the eyes including a nose recess and cheek-conforming portions, retaining means secured to the lower outer edge for retaining the lower edge against the features to prevent the ingress of air between the shield and the face, means for retaining the upper portion of the shield away from the features to provide ventilation from the top, and a strip of leather stitched to the lower edge constituting a binding, said strip being slit at intervals to render it ilexible and face-conform- 53. A frameless, exible eyeshield requiring contact with the features to be held in operative shape and in position, comprising, a ilatexpansive sheet of transparent material constituting the body portion, the lower edge of said sheet being shaped to include a nose recess and cheek- .conforming portions adapting it to t the face in operative shape and in position, retaining elements connected to the lower outer edges of said cheek conforming portions for upward or downward movement; the ends of said band being secured to said elements thereby to permit ad- Justment of the points of suspension of the band in order to vary the angle of the shield to the face.

4. An eyeshield comprising, lprior to application, a single ilat expansive sheet of transparent flexible material constituting a body portion, the lower edge of said sheet being shaped to t the face below the eyes including a nose recess and cheek conforming portions, retaining means secured to the lower outer edges of the shield below the top of the nose recess whereby, on application, the shield is tilted outwardly and forwardly toward its upper portion, andmeans reenforcing the upper portion against inward flexation.

5. An eyeshield comprising, prior to application, a single flatl expansive sheet of transparent flexible material constituting a body portion, the lower edge of said sheet being shaped to nt the face below the eyes including a nose recess and cheek conforming portions.' and retaining means secured to the lower outer edges' of the shield below the top of the nose recess whereby, on application, theshield-is tilted outwardly and forwardly toward `its upper portion.

' GRAY MILLER, Ja. 

